nanming man

Chapter 803 The battle between the bright master and the dark master

The arrival of the envoys from the Qing Dynasty was not an accident. The Qing court had been seeking peace talks with Nanjing as early as two years ago.

Although the Qing army has defeated the Ming army, the situation has not improved. Sending envoys again must be a matter of re-proposing peace.

Just like the last peace negotiation, the courtiers around Zhu Cihong were divided into two factions. One faction, headed by Chen Zilong and Wang Yan, believed that Zhu Cihong could not meet with the envoys of the Qing Dynasty and could not negotiate peace. Therefore, since the Northern Expedition failed, it is time to give in and join the captives against the thieves to ensure the balance of the world situation.

Prior to this, the main battle faction had already grasped the right to speak in the Ming court, but a big defeat made the main peace faction rise again, and some of the unsteady main battle factions also changed their attitudes after the big defeat.

The two factions couldn't stop arguing, and they were very good at speaking, and no one could convince anyone. Zhu Cihong was already timid. In the end, Zhu Cihong didn't meet the Qing envoy, but he adopted a compromise plan and asked Ruan Dacheng to meet the Qing envoy to understand After clarifying the envoy's intentions, make a decision.

The failure of the Northern Expedition dealt a great blow to Zhu Cihong, and he became paralyzed.

At the end of November, the weather was already very cold, and there was heavy snow falling in the sky. Zhu Cihong was worried that the Huaihe River would freeze, so he retreated to Yangzhou overnight.

At this time, the minister asked Zhu Cihong to cross the river and return to Nanjing, but Zhu Cihong refused to leave. He found a house in Yangzhou, a big salt merchant, as a temporary residence, and set Yangzhou as his residence, and refused to cross the river.

At the beginning of December, in the Nuan Pavilion of the Yangzhou Palace, Zhu Cihong, who had lost a lot of weight, coughed non-stop, while the university scholar Ruan Dacheng stood aside, and said with concern: "Victory or defeat is a common matter in military affairs, Your Majesty, don't take it too seriously, you should use the dragon body What's more important!"

Zhu Cilang stretched out his hand to stop Ruan Dacheng, who was about to go forward to stroke his back, and he calmed down and asked in a deep voice, "What did the Qing envoy say?"

Seeing this, Ruan Dacheng said solemnly: "Your Majesty, the request made by the Qing envoy is very simple. The Ming Dynasty and the Qing State signed a contract. Recognizing the status of the Qing Dynasty as the Northern Dynasty, the two sides signed an alliance, demarcated the border, did not invade each other, and joined forces to destroy Wei. Finally, the Qing envoy made a request, hoping that our dynasty would provide 50 taels of rice and 60 taels of silver every year to fund the Qing Dynasty. The army fought against the Western Wei Dynasty."

Zhu Cihong covered his mouth with his hands, coughed and pondered, but Ruan Dacheng said: "Your Majesty, I think this condition is quite good! To conclude a contract, Your Majesty is a brother, and I am not ashamed of it, and the food and silver I give every year are not counted. What, it costs several times less than fighting a war. The most important thing is that our alliance with the Qing Dynasty can maintain the balance of the world and prevent the Western Wei Dynasty from being dominant~~~"

In Ruan Dacheng's view, the Qing army had won a big victory, and the Qing envoy could offer such conditions, which is really good.

However, Zhu Cihong waved his hand to stop him from continuing, "Okay, I understand, the Qing family will step back first. I am a little tired again, and want to rest for a while."

After hearing this, Ruan Dacheng could only shut up resentfully, and then bowed, "The minister is retiring."

Zhu Cihong waited for him to leave the Nuan Pavilion, coughed a few times, stood up, walked to a map, and fell silent.

This Northern Expedition had severely damaged Daming's vitality, and it was difficult to go north in a short time, which meant that he could only watch Gao Yihuan perform.

If the Western Wei Dynasty defeated the Qing army and occupied Hedong, then Luoyang must be looking for something, and within two years, the Manchu and Qing forces would retreat outside the pass.

At that time, Daming will face a Gao Yihuan who is even more terrifying than Li Zicheng. Zhu Cihong has no confidence at all to resist Gao Yihuan.

At this time, Zhu Cihong's belief in restoring Beijing was fading, and his desire to continue the state in the south of the Yangtze River was on the rise.

It's like a person, when a more difficult goal cannot be achieved, he will often retreat to achieve the second-level goal.

Zhu Cihong was hit. Now he feels that Emperor Guangwu can't do it, and he thinks that Zhao Gou is actually not bad.

However, Zhao Gou is not so easy to do. Zhu Cihong will not be able to pass his own level in the first place. Negotiating a peace is tantamount to giving up the northern territory, which will make him ashamed of his ancestors.

Zhu Cihong stood in front of the map for a while, still unsure of paying attention, and finally waved his hand suddenly and said: "Come here, show me, I'm going to visit Mr. Gaoge!"

Gao Mingheng is better at defending and defending. In this Northern Expedition, apart from blocking Dorgon on the north bank, which was arranged by him, he didn't have many opportunities to show his strengths.

This battle was a huge blow to Zhu Cihong, and it was the same to Gao Mingheng. He saw that the achievements of several years were ruined. Nearly half of the elite soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were lost, and the loss of supplies and equipment was heavy. The point of getting out of bed.

Zhu Cihong came to the house where Gao Mingheng was staying. In the bedroom, he saw Gao Mingheng lying on the bed with a pale face, struggling to get out of bed, and hurried forward and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Ge!"

"Your Majesty, the old minister can't salute anymore." The guard stuffed Gao Mingheng's back with a quilt and let him lean against the head of the bed.

Zhu Cihong said with concern: "Elder Ge, please pay attention to your health! I still have to rely on Elder Ge."

Gao Mingheng nodded, seeing Zhu Cihong's worried face, "Your Majesty is here today, what's the matter?"

"I can't hide anything from Elder Ge!" Zhu Cihong sighed, and then the emissary from the Slavery Sect came to discuss the peace, the conditions proposed, and the views of the ministers of the main war and the main and the two factions, and then asked: "I really can't make up my mind, so I want to ask elder Ge's opinion."

Gao Mingheng didn't answer right away. After pondering for a while, he said: "The minister thinks that the main battle is impossible, and the main peace is also impossible."

Zhu Cihong frowned, "What does the elder mean?"

"Now that our dynasty has been defeated, we no longer have the strength to take over the north, and the Western Wei Dynasty has risen in Kansai. It is not appropriate for our dynasty to continue the main battle. We should unite with the captives to fight against Wei, so the main battle is not advisable." Gao Mingheng paused and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. If you have this status, your Majesty will be the Son of Heaven if you lose this battle, and you will still be the Son of Heaven if you lose the next battle. Your Majesty can make a comeback after several defeats. If you lose this status, it only takes one big defeat, and you will be ruined." The country of the Ming Dynasty. To negotiate a peace, the Ming Dynasty will recognize the slavery and abandon the north, and His Majesty will give up the orthodox status of the world, so it is not advisable to negotiate a peace."

Zhu Cihong was confused, "Ge Lao said so, I am confused."

After Gao Mingheng coughed a few times, he explained: "I have a shortcoming in my dynasty. I deal with affairs in black and white. The main battle is blindly the main battle. I think that any main peace is traitorous. In exchange for eternal peace. This is the legacy of party struggle! What I mean is to fight in the open, to make peace in the dark, to help build slaves, not to sign a contract, to accumulate strength, and to fight again when the opportunity arises."

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(End of this chapter)